On June 2, the United Nations announced that Türkiye would replace the name Turkey whenever the country was referenced. “Turkey is the best representation and expression of the culture, civilization and values of the Turkish people,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last December when his government issued a note on the name change. This rebranding could be linked to Erdogan’s apparent annoyance at the country’s unflattering association with the bird. As the country’s geopolitical role grows, Turkey has reportedly become more image-conscious, and Erdogan’s sensitivity to how the country is perceived is also likely linked to his nationalist tendencies.
By the way, turkeys (i.e. the bird) actually get their name from Turkey (the country), as guinea fowl – originally imported to Europe via Turkey – were called turkeys . Colonists later also applied this name to the much larger bird of the Americas.
The Netherlands
The Dutch government also overhauled its image by dropping the Holland name. Since 2020, business leaders, the tourism board and the central government all call the country the Netherlands. Today, North Holland and South Holland are just two of the European country’s 12 provinces.
The name change is believed to be part of a move to move away from the country’s association with recreational drug use and legal prostitution, a powerful pull factor for foreigners to the Dutch capital Amsterdam, located in the province from North Holland. It is unclear what will happen to the domain name Holland.com, which is still the homepage of the Dutch tourism agency.
North Macedonia
In 2019, the Republic of Macedonia (although recognized as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) officially became the Republic of North Macedonia. Unlike other country name changes, the motivation in this case was political.
North Macedonia has sought to improve relations with Greece, with the aim of joining NATO and the EU. Greece has long disputed the use of the name Macedonia for the neighboring country, as it is also the name of a geographical region of Greece. Macedonia was also an ancient Greek kingdom. The conflict over the name has even contributed to instability in the region. Greece had preferred that the Balkan country abandon all use of the term, proposing instead the names “Republic of Vardar” or “Republic of Skopje”. But after long negotiations, North Macedonia became Macedonian, the name of its official language and its citizens remaining Macedonian.
Eswatini
In April 2018, King Mswati III renamed Swaziland Eswatini, emphasizing the leader’s desire to break free from the country’s colonial past. It is said that the king was also unhappy with the way some people confused Swaziland with Switzerland. Announced on the 50th anniversary of the formation of the African country, Eswatini – the pre-colonial name of the nation – means “land of the Swazis” in their language.
Czechia
It is once again marketing that is behind the change of name of the Central European country, the Czech Republic. In 2016, the Czech government officially changed its name to Czechia, with a recommendation to promote this short version in international contexts. Just as France’s official name is the French Republic, the Czech Republic could be Czechia, the reasoning goes. And Czechia is an easier name to associate with products.
Although the EU, UN and some major companies call it Czechia, the name has not yet caught on internationally. One reason may be that Czechia could too easily be confused with Chechnya, a Russian republic in the Caucasus. In 2020, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said The Wall Street Journal that he didn’t like the name Czechia at all.
Green cap
This island nation, located in the Atlantic Ocean about 700 kilometers (440 miles) off the coast of Senegal, filed its official request for a name change in 2013. Formerly called Cape Verde, it is a partial anglicization of the original Portuguese “cabo verde”. ”, which means “green cape”. Although not a cape, the archipelago lies just beyond the westernmost point of the African continent.
Practical reasons are probably also behind this name change. The culture minister at the time said the country was looking for a standardized name that would not need to be translated. He added that he hoped Cabo Verde would evoke positive associations with sun, sea and happy people.
Sri Lanka
Like Eswatini, Sri Lanka changed its name to break with colonial associations. Although the official name change took place in 1972, when it became independent from British rule, it was not until 2011 that Sri Lanka officially erased the old colonial name Ceylon from common usage. of the government. However, the popular Ceylan Tea label remained.